Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.

Information on this website is compiled by Punto24 (Platform for Independent Journalism) from open sources.

Journalists in State of Emergency – 52

On March 22, Platform for Independent Journalism P24 updated the number of imprisoned journalists in Turkey to 150 from 148, based on recently obtained accounts of families of two journalists whose arrest was not covered in the media.

P24 learned that a former Cihan news agency reporter, Ömer Oruç, had been kept under arrest for the past five months. İsmail Efe, the press advisor to the İzmir Culture and Tourism Director, has been imprisoned in Aliağa Prison for the past three months.

On March 21, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu, academic Şebnem Korur Fincancı and journalist Ahmet Nesin were tried for joining a campaign to show solidarity with the now defunct Özgür Gündem newspaper. The trial was adjourned until June 8. The court also issued a capture warrant for Ahmet Nesin, who wasn’t present on the day of the trial, to bring him forcibly to testify.

The three are among dozens of others who stood in as Özgür Gündem’s editor-in-chief for a day as part of a campaign to show solidarity with the newspaper, before its closure.

Nesin is accused of “openly inciting the public to commit a crime,” “praising a crime and a criminal” and “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Prosecutors have asked for up to 14.5 years for him on different counts.

A lawyer for Fincancı submitted an amicus brief prepared by the London-based free speech group Article 19 to the court during the trial.

The solidarity campaign for Özgür Gündem started on May 3 last year, lasting until August 7, 2016. 52 out of the 56 participants were subject of legal investigations. Eleven of those cases were dropped and 38 individuals were taken to court on various terror-related charges.

Journalist detentions

On March 20, Selman Keleş, a Van reporter for Dihaber, was detained outside the Van Municipal Office, while filming the area. No official statement was offered as to the reason of his detention.

Hayri Demir, another Dihaber reporter, was detained in a home raid on March 17 in the capital. Demir was accused of “conducting actions on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)/Kurdistan Communities’ Union(KCK),” designated as terror groups in Turkey. Lawyers were Demir said they couldn’t establish the grounds for the charges.

A German journalist, Hinrich Schulze, was taken into custody and later released by police in Diyarbakır on March 20. Shulze was in town to report on the Newroz celebrations — the Kurdish festival of spring marked on March 21, which also has political conotations in the context of Turkey. The journalist was reportedly held for about half an hour.

Journalist detained in relation with Dink murder trial

Six suspects, including İhlas News Agency (İHA) court reporter Muammer Ay, were captured as part of an investigation into the 2007 murder of journalist Hrant Dink. The investigation concerned the publication of news items about a photograph in which Dink’s shooter posed with police officers at the Samsun Police Department.

Assaults on journalists

A video suggesting that Halil Kızılırmak, a volunteer reporter for the online news platform Dokuz8Haber, was physically attacked by police at the Ankara University campus on March 20 was shared with the public. Kızılırmak was covering protests against recent expulsions of academics from the university under a cabinet decree.

The newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi has claimed that Dihaber reporter Berivan Karataş was assaulted by police officers in Ağrı province on March 20. Karataş was together with some Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies distributing flyers for a Newroz celebration planned the next day.

Journalists arrested under State of Emergency as part of coup investigation